Thursday, January 18
Reed Green Coliseum
6 p.m.
Southern Miss
9-7,2-4Sun Belt
82
vs
75
Georgia State
9-7,3-3Sun Belt
1
2
3
4
F
Georgia St.
25
8
23
19
75
Southern Miss.
19
16
23
24
82
Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com
Southern Miss Out-Shoots Georgia State for Gritty 82-75 Win
1/18/2024 10:35:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Grayson brings down 19 rebounds - most in 14 years
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Lady Eagles traded blows with Georgia State for 40 minutes and were able to hang on in the final minute to emerge victorious. Southern Miss' 82-75 win over the Panthers moves the Lady Eagles to 2-4 in Sun Belt play and marks back-to-back wins for Southern Miss.
Southern Miss (9-8, 2-4 Sun Belt) placed four in double-figure scoring led by Domonique Davis (DeRidder, La.) and Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) who each tallied 18 points. Grayson also turned in one of the program's greatest double-double performances, adding in 19 rebounds for her 14th career double-double and fourth on the year. Her board mark is the most since Pauline Love brought down 19 in the 2009 opener and is the 13th-most rebounds in a game in program history.
"We'll take a win any way we can get one, but I will say this – our team performed well in spurts, we really, really did," said 20th-year head coach Joye Lee-McNelis. "One of our goal coming in to the game was to out-rebound them by 10 and we outrebounded them by 11. Another thing we discussed was that it was important to get four players in double figures and we were able to get that. It helps to share the ball so people don't just lock in on Dom. The other thing is is that we talked to Jacorriah Bracey after our last game. She and I talked and I said that's what I expect every time, that's why I've been on you because you should be able to do that every time and she was able to that tonight. I'm always in Melyia's ear about double-doubles and now she's had back-to-back games with one. I think we really earned this win based on our practices this week."
Georgia State (9-7, 3-3 Sun Belt) entered Reed Green Coliseum for the first time since 1976 and led for the majority of the first quarter. The Panthers ran off seven unanswered points at the end of the frame on back-to-back Lady Eagle turnovers to take a six-point lead. GSU led 25-19 at the end of the frame.
The Panthers pushed their lead to eight with 4:10 left to play before a Brikayla Gray (Hebron, Miss.) jumper sparked a 10-0 Lady Eagle run to end the quarter. The run helped Southern Miss win the second quarter and double up Georgia State in the frame 16-8. Southern Miss held a 35-33 lead at the half with the highlight of the quarter coming as Nyla Jean (Tampa, Fla.) swiped a steal at one end of the court and drilled a three-pointer to tie the game.
Southern Miss continued its run into the third quarter, leading by as many as 10 at the six minute mark, forcing Georgia State to take a timeout. In total the Lady Eagles had a 23-5 run in the middle eight minutes of the day. The Panthers' timeout seemed to do the trick, though, as Georgia State cut the deficit to one and took the lead within the next four minutes of play, setting the stage for a gritty fourth quarter.
The Lady Eagles held a 58-56 lead going into the final frame and won the race to 60 with Grayson's 15th point of the night. Southern Miss surrendered the lead just once but quickly retook it with an ankle-breaking three from Davis.
From the 5:34 mark on, Southern Miss did not relinquish its lead. The two teams entered a battle of fouls and free throws in the final two minutes and Southern Miss closed out the game, topping 80 for the first time since scoring 91 at North Alabama earlier this season.
Four Lady Eagles with double figures is the most since the squad placed four with 10+ against North Dakota earlier this season as well. Davis and Grayson's 18 was complimented by Noelani Cornfield's (Gowanda, N.Y.) 17 and Jacorriah Bracey's (Drew, Miss.) 10. Bracey also brought down 10 rebounds for her fifth career double-double.
UP NEXT
Southern Miss stays home and welcomes ULM (12-5, 4-2 Sun Belt) to Reed Green Coliseum for the first of two meetings this season. The Warhawks are out to their best start in years under first year head coach Missy Bilderback, who previously prowled the sidelines at Jones County Junior College.
Tipoff is set for Noon at Reed Green Coliseum. Fans should be advised that parking in the M.K. Turk Circle, Pete Taylor Park lot and Wellness Center lot will be enforced due to the men's game at 2:30 p.m.
Southern Miss (9-8, 2-4 Sun Belt) placed four in double-figure scoring led by Domonique Davis (DeRidder, La.) and Melyia Grayson (Hattiesburg, Miss.) who each tallied 18 points. Grayson also turned in one of the program's greatest double-double performances, adding in 19 rebounds for her 14th career double-double and fourth on the year. Her board mark is the most since Pauline Love brought down 19 in the 2009 opener and is the 13th-most rebounds in a game in program history.
"We'll take a win any way we can get one, but I will say this – our team performed well in spurts, we really, really did," said 20th-year head coach Joye Lee-McNelis. "One of our goal coming in to the game was to out-rebound them by 10 and we outrebounded them by 11. Another thing we discussed was that it was important to get four players in double figures and we were able to get that. It helps to share the ball so people don't just lock in on Dom. The other thing is is that we talked to Jacorriah Bracey after our last game. She and I talked and I said that's what I expect every time, that's why I've been on you because you should be able to do that every time and she was able to that tonight. I'm always in Melyia's ear about double-doubles and now she's had back-to-back games with one. I think we really earned this win based on our practices this week."
Georgia State (9-7, 3-3 Sun Belt) entered Reed Green Coliseum for the first time since 1976 and led for the majority of the first quarter. The Panthers ran off seven unanswered points at the end of the frame on back-to-back Lady Eagle turnovers to take a six-point lead. GSU led 25-19 at the end of the frame.
The Panthers pushed their lead to eight with 4:10 left to play before a Brikayla Gray (Hebron, Miss.) jumper sparked a 10-0 Lady Eagle run to end the quarter. The run helped Southern Miss win the second quarter and double up Georgia State in the frame 16-8. Southern Miss held a 35-33 lead at the half with the highlight of the quarter coming as Nyla Jean (Tampa, Fla.) swiped a steal at one end of the court and drilled a three-pointer to tie the game.
Southern Miss continued its run into the third quarter, leading by as many as 10 at the six minute mark, forcing Georgia State to take a timeout. In total the Lady Eagles had a 23-5 run in the middle eight minutes of the day. The Panthers' timeout seemed to do the trick, though, as Georgia State cut the deficit to one and took the lead within the next four minutes of play, setting the stage for a gritty fourth quarter.
The Lady Eagles held a 58-56 lead going into the final frame and won the race to 60 with Grayson's 15th point of the night. Southern Miss surrendered the lead just once but quickly retook it with an ankle-breaking three from Davis.
From the 5:34 mark on, Southern Miss did not relinquish its lead. The two teams entered a battle of fouls and free throws in the final two minutes and Southern Miss closed out the game, topping 80 for the first time since scoring 91 at North Alabama earlier this season.
Four Lady Eagles with double figures is the most since the squad placed four with 10+ against North Dakota earlier this season as well. Davis and Grayson's 18 was complimented by Noelani Cornfield's (Gowanda, N.Y.) 17 and Jacorriah Bracey's (Drew, Miss.) 10. Bracey also brought down 10 rebounds for her fifth career double-double.
UP NEXT
Southern Miss stays home and welcomes ULM (12-5, 4-2 Sun Belt) to Reed Green Coliseum for the first of two meetings this season. The Warhawks are out to their best start in years under first year head coach Missy Bilderback, who previously prowled the sidelines at Jones County Junior College.
Tipoff is set for Noon at Reed Green Coliseum. Fans should be advised that parking in the M.K. Turk Circle, Pete Taylor Park lot and Wellness Center lot will be enforced due to the men's game at 2:30 p.m.
– #McNelisStrong –
Team Stats
GSU
USM
FG%
.435
.477
3FG%
.350
.438
FT%
.700
.619
RB
33
44
TO
11
16
STL
10
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's Basketball
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